Conference Championship Predictions

This is it.  The biggest Sunday of the season leading up to the Superbowl.  Four teams remain, and everything's on the line.  By the end of the night, two teams will be going to Texas for Superbowl XLV, while the other two will be going home.  Only on Superbowl Sunday itself can it get any better than this.

They say the game gets much more intense in the postseason, and this year has been no exception.  We've seen some pretty fierce rivalries renewed, like the Steelers and the Ravens or the Jets and the Patriots.  We've seen our share of upsets, like the Seahawks - the only team ever to enter the playoffs with a losing record - toppling the defending champion Saints.  We've seen dark-horse teams like the Packers and Jets emerge from the shadows.  We've seen game-changing plays like Marshawn Lynch's monster touchdown run or Ben Roethlisberger's desperation third-down throw to rookie Antonio Brown.  And we've seen leaders and heroes make their presence known in the playoffs, both proven veterans, like Hines Ward or Brian Urlacher, and newer ones like Mark Sanchez, Aaron Rodgers, and Tramon Williams. 

Who will be the heroes this Sunday?  Which teams will take their game to the next level with the chance to represent their conference in the Superbowl at stake?  Who wants it the most? 

And now, only one question remains:

Are you ready for some football?
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So far, I've been 6-for-8 this postseason, having gone 3-for-4 both weeks.  We've got a pretty exciting pair of matchups tomorrow, so let me get right to my picks.

NFC Championship: Packers at Bears 
Championship Sunday kicks off with the NFL going back to its roots.  The Packers and the Bears are like the football equivalent of the NHL's Original Six.  These two teams have played each other in more games (181) than any other teams in the league, but surprisingly, this will be only the second time that they'll have faced off in the postseason.   The Bears' strength is in their defense, which ranked ninth overall and second against the run.  QB Jay Cutler is finally starting to show that he can lead his team to victory when it really counts, and RB Matt Forte gives Chicago's offense the extra dimension that it needs.  Forte's running will be critical to the Bears establishing their offense, as the Packers boast the NFL's fifth-ranked pass defense.  Players like LB Clay Matthews and CB's Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams (who had two interceptions last week at Atlanta, returning one for a touchdown) could really make life difficult for Cutler, and he'll need to prove that he can handle the pressure when he needs to.  On the other end of the ball, QB Aaron Rodgers has really stepped up his game the last few weeks, and has numerous weapons in his toolbox, like Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, and Donald Driver.  The Bears' pass defense was 20th in the league this season, so look for Rodgers to try to take advantage of that early on, as Chicago's defense will neutralize any chance of Green Bay establishing the running game.  Both teams have the big playmakers at their disposal.  The winner of this game will be whoever wins the turnover battle and makes the fewest mental errors, and from the looks of things, Rodgers and the Pack seem to have the edge over Cutler and Da Bears.
Packers 20, Bears 13. 

AFC Championship: Jets at Steelers 
A team with the experience that knows what it takes, against a breakout young team with the hunger for victory and the burning desire to establish itself among the league's elite.  Like I said, it can't get much better than this.  Both the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers have the right combination of physicality and finesse to win it all, so this will definitely be a great game no matter who you're rooting for.  I've underestimated the Jets for the last couple months, but right now, as a die-hard Steelers fan, I gotta admit that I'm pretty scared of what New York is capable of doing.  After all, they did upset two of the AFC's perennial powers, the Colts and the Patriots, to even get to Pittsburgh for this match.   Their defense is third in the league, both overall and against the run, and sixth against the pass, and their offense is very well-rounded in terms of talent, with QB Mark Sanchez, RB LaDanian Tomlinson, and WR's Santonio Holmes (who will certainly have something to prove against his former team) and Braylon Edwards.  However, Jets fans also have plenty of reasons to be scared as well, especially after watching the Steelers' second-ranked defense turn up the heat against Baltimore in the second half of last week's Divisional Game.  Pro Bowl LB James Harrison had three sacks, and Pittsburgh took advantage of the Ravens' three turnovers to send them to their third AFC Championship Game in six seasons.  They will certainly need to bring the pressure early on in this game, which will be more difficult against a Jets offensive line anchored by two Pro Bowlers, C Nick Mangold and OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson.  On offense, the Steelers will need to do a much better job of protecting Ben Roethlisberger to allow him to get the ball to his receivers.  They can't afford to give up as many sacks as they did to Baltimore last week.  Jets CB's Antonio Cromartie and Pro Bowler Darelle Revis will have their hands full with the ever-reliable Hines Ward and the speedy Mike Wallace, though they are certainly up to the task.  Even if the Jets do manage to take Ward and Wallace out of the game, Pittsburgh still has quite the arsenal of playmakers available, including TE Heath Miller and rookie WR's Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown, who made a critical 58-yard catch last week to set up the winning touchdown.  Running backs could make the difference for either side in this game - though both of these teams are in the top three in stopping the run, neither side looked too good in that regard when they met in December.  The Steelers gave up 106 yards on the ground, which was over 40 yards higher than their average this season, and Rashard Mendenhall gashed the Jets for 99 yards and a touchdown.  If either team can manage to establish the run, it might buy their offense some more chances to go down the field and put points on the board.  Forcing turnovers will also be critical for both sides - we know it definitely was for the Steelers last week.  The last game between these two teams took the full sixty minutes to determine a winner, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case this time around.  Bear in mind, though, that last time, the Steelers played without their biggest defensive playmaker, SS Troy Polamalu, but this time he'll be ready to go, and that could make all the difference for Pittsburgh.
Steelers 17, Jets 16.